If I Smile
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: It's strange how she's the first person he goes to for help. It's disconcerting to see him so tense when he's asking a favor of her. Artemis is always willing to help, how could she not be?


**A/N: Is it funny how I can write song lyrics in my head and automatically incorporate them to one of my favorite shows? YJ completely dominates my life…**

**Disclaimer: I don't even own.**

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**_If I Smile…_**

It's strange how she's the first person he goes to for help. It's disconcerting to see him so tense when he's asking a favor of her. Artemis is always willing to help, how could she not be?

_If I smile…_

He always pulls her into a dark alley when she's least expecting it, but Wally is never with her; Roy only trusts himself to be seen with Artemis, yet she has no idea why. "I need some help."

Her first reaction is to try and hit him just because it's dark and he's a lone stranger in an alley, but Artemis quickly recognizes the voice and pulls forth the face from her memories. "Roy, you need to stop this-"

"I need help. Speedy won't be found on his own."

"Well can you at least let go of my arm?"

His death grip on her wrist is relinquished. He watches with slightly concerned eyes as she rubs life back into her wrist. "Sorry."

Venom laces her response. "No you're not."

There's a lapse until he speaks up again. "I need you to use the League servers to search for heat signatures in Tibet." He's shoving a slip of paper in her hand. "Here are the coordinates. I just want to know if there's anything there."

Artemis doesn't breathe for a second. She can't get air into her lungs. She's a mess because he can't wake up and realize what this search is doing to him. Roy's becoming something dangerous and destructive.

Her eyes have adjusted now and she can see his scraggly hair and the five o' clock shadow that hangs on his chin. His eyes are dim and tired. Roy has become a husk of his former self, a complete train wreck.

"Promise me one thing."

_Will you…_

He's already impatient, just wanting to get out and get back to Lian. He knows he definitely shouldn't have left her in Washington D.C. on her own while Cheshire's out getting the gear for the trip. Roy just wants confirmation that this won't be another wild goose chase. He just wants some reassurance that his heart won't be broken again by another dead end. "What?" he snaps.

"If this doesn't come up with anything," she says softly, "you'll stop searching." Her blue-gray eyes hold silent pleas. "You'll stop thinking about him, you'll stop looking for him, you'll stop everything related to Speedy." And Artemis almost feels like crying.

"You can't tell me-"

"It's ruining your life, Roy!" There are actually true tears glowing in those orbs and she can't hold them back; she always hoped to love him like a brother and now is no different. Her sister disappeared, her mother is gone, and her father is distant at best. Roy was someone she considered as family, and now to watch him deteriorate to such a broken state… "You were so great once! You were an idol to me! Why do you think I started this in the first place?"

Stoic silence permeates from the redhead as he looks away, not wanting to watch her cry.

"Robin was an inspiration, Kid Flash was pretty awesome, but an archer? An _archer_?" She shoves him against the wall, pinning him there; Artemis almost laughs when he doesn't fight back. "Speedy was my drive to become who I used to be, Roy. I kept posters of you in my room, I kept pictures of Red Arrow before I met you, and don't even get me started on all the freaking fan letters I tried to send."

He really has no idea what to say.

"And if you start throwing that 'I'm not the real Roy Harper' shit at me, I'm going to punch your fucking face in because you're alive! I'm not going to start quoting Ollie and Dinah's crap, but you're one of the last Harpers in existence, and if you don't want to accept that and if you want to kill your own legacy, go ahead! But think about how much you're _wasting_?"

Even if Roy wanted to get a word in, she's already ranting. Tears still stream down her face and all he wants to do is wipe them away and take care of his sister-in-law, but she'd slap him away for even thinking about touching her.

"Why don't you live the life he would want you to live? Because you're worth more than this, Roy. You're smart, brave, kind, and God knows you could look better than this. Why would you waste your life like this? He's gone, you're here. Don't ruin yourself for someone who would want you to live better!"

_Will you smile back?_

"I promise."

She releases him, falling back to the other side of the alley, leaning against the wall as if he'd just hit her. She curls into herself and just starts crying and she has no idea why. Artemis can't stop herself. She's cared about this guy for as long as he's existed and now that she knows him, she practically loves him. He's the closest thing to family she's really got.

Roy forces himself to go to her. There is no way he can abandon her like this. She's so fragile sometimes; Artemis can look like stone, but she's really just putty. She's broken inside in ways that not even Wally can heal, but he knows he holds a certain role in her life that may repair some of the damage.

It's strange feeling arms other than Wally's wrapped around her. Still, she leans into him and just cries. He smells awful, but she can't even complain. She'll find a way to clean him up. Artemis crumples up the paper in her hand and knows that these coordinates can either save or kill him.

Artemis merely whispers, "Thank you."

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**A/N: I just… I really wanted to write some bonding for them. Really. Review?**

**~Sky**

_If I smile…  
__Will you…  
__Will you smile back?_


End file.
